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A day after earning a trip to Super Bowl 50, Denver Broncos safety has already heard enough bad-mouthing about his team to spout back.
Picking the @Panthers? Then @BossWard43 says thanks for motivating his @Broncos. #SB50 #BroncosCountryPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/TsdXrcY3AY
— NFL (@NFL) January 25, 2016
Seems like a whole lot of truth here, as even in Colorado it wasn't two seconds into the Broncos confetti people were saying they couldn't handle Cam Newton (previous to his win in the NFC Championship). What seems to be happening is very reminiscent of the Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl XLVII game against the San Francisco 49ers.
The Ravens had played three very finesse based teams at the time. The Colts, Broncos, and Patriots. All three possessed good offenses and good defenses, but nothing to the extent of hard-nosed, powerhouse defense squads with real grit.
Now the Broncos seem to be the tough team with plenty of defense. Good pass rush, hard run-stopping squad, and cornerbacks to cover opposition with incompletions and turnovers. Denver won through a defensive turnover against the Steelers. They forced Tom Brady into multiple interceptions. But now they face a powerful team that are based on running, defense, and hard hitting. Immediately people have counted them out, as TJ Ward mentioned.
Baltimore in 2012 faced the same story-line. A dual-threat quarterback, a talented running team with passing capabilities, and a defense known for an amazingly talented front seven. In particular the linebackers. The comparisons are obvious.
Ravens were underdogs then, and the Broncos are "underdogs" now. And feeding these Denver "underdogs" is in comparison feeding literal dogs bloody steaks. They are hungry for a championship. They want to prove this. Nothing in the football universe is scarier than Demarcus Ware and Von Miller pissed off for glory. Furious they've no longer been believed in by others.
My suggestion, don't give any fuel to this fire, cause every Bronco will take it and become even better than before.